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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27421330">Fate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanteiKID13/pseuds/TanteiKID13'>TanteiKID13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fortune [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fortune Telling, Happy Ending, M/M, Oblivious Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Pining Riku (Kingdom Hearts), can be read as a standalone story</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:41:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,988</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27421330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanteiKID13/pseuds/TanteiKID13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Riku decides that Sora is his destiny long before he ever heard his fortune told. </p><p>His childhood imagination didn't quite see the romance or the coup coming, but he gets there eventually.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fortune [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2003401</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is Riku's POV for my other story, Destiny. Riku knows a lot more about what's going on, so they're best read in order, but this story can be read as a standalone, knowing that this is a universe where children receive a fortune when they hit ten that tells them something important about their life.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Riku had known, even as a child, that Sora was his destiny. He had said as much to Kairi, who asked why he hadn't offered to take Sora with them when they returned to the palace after the war had calmed.</p><p>"He loves the islands. I don't want to be the thing that takes him from them." While he wouldn't admit it, Riku had been tempted, running scenarios in his head where Sora came with them or Riku stayed with him. None of them ever worked out for long, even in his head. </p><p>If Sora was his destiny, then the next time they met, Riku wasn't going to let him go.</p><p>When the fortune-teller told him three years later, "You will find the strength to ascend and rule on the islands of your childhood," Riku had frowned.</p><p>Find the strength?</p><p>He thought he had plenty.</p><p>The islands, on the other hand, meant one thing to Riku: Sora. "Thank you," he said, with a polite bow, and he went to his father and said, "I want Sora by my side."</p><p>His father had asked him, "And what does Sora think about that?"</p><p>Riku hadn't had an answer. He had gone that night, only to be caught up with the next day.</p><p>"You're lucky your father knew where you were heading," Kairi's father, Lord Miyashita, told him, as he arranged Riku's pack behind his own. He swung up onto the horse, offering a hand down. "There are troubled times ahead, your Royal Highness." </p><p>Riku grabbed his hand. He didn't need the assistance, but he wasn't rude either. Still, there was some pouting until he looked around. "We're... still going to the islands?"</p><p>"You're a stubborn boy, your Royal Highness. His Majesty thought it better you be accompanied on the trip rather than you try again later."</p><p>Riku hid a smile. There was no mother in his memories, but his father had always understood him well enough that he didn't feel the lack.</p><p>It had honestly never occurred to him that Sora wouldn't be there. An overnight trip with other kids his age, his mother had explained, but Riku felt like he had been splashed with cold water. What was he <em> doing</em>? Sora hadn't even received his own destiny yet, and Riku was going to come and… what, take him? What was Sora going to do at the palace? Sora might not even want to leave the islands; Riku had no way of knowing.</p><p>His father really did know him better than he knew himself. Whatever Sora wanted right now, Riku didn’t think he could give it to him. It was the same problem as last time; Riku knew Sora was his destiny but Sora wasn’t his to take.</p><p>"Don't mention this to Sora. I don't want him to feel bad about missing us," Riku told Sora's mother. She nodded, looking at him with heavy eyes, as if she knew that he had been planning to take her son away.</p><p>He found he couldn't quite meet her eyes after that.</p><p>"He'd be sorry he missed you," she said, and it felt like a condemnation from her lips. Riku fought the urge to hunch in on himself; he was a prince and he refused to cower. </p><p>On the ride back, Kairi's father had looked towards the sky as he said, "You can't make your destiny work out how you want it to. It will come in its own time." He supposed it hadn't been hard to make the connection between his tenth birthday and his sudden trip, especially for a man like Lord Miyashita, spymaster of their court.</p><p>Several years later and a multitude of excuses to Kairi as to why they were just too <em>busy</em> to go back to the islands, the rumors of the swordsman arose. Skilled with blade and magic, from an unremarkable string of islands, they said, and Riku knew.</p><p>The strength to ascend to the throne, huh? </p><p>So, it was going to be a fight then. </p><p>Against who though?</p><p>His magical studies were limited after he had shown no aptitude for any other than dark magic. His swordsmanship tended towards overly aggressive, a tendency he was trying to curb. His tutors told him he got overly focused on objectives he might be better served abandoning. </p><p>"You can make do with limited combat skills even as a king, but you must learn logistics. You put your knights where they must be and you maintain their supply lines," his father told him before his eyes sparkled and Riku knew he was going to say something embarrassing. "I'm sure that swordsman you're so obsessed with knows something about that."</p><p>Riku felt his face redden. "I'm not obsessed," he said, because he <em>wasn't</em>. "It's Sora!" He knew Sora, keeping up with news of his travels wasn't an obsession.</p><p>"Ah," his father said with a smirk. "You've always been like this about him." He paused for a few moments, then added, "One day, I'm going to see if that boy lives up to the name you've made for him here."</p><p>"When I find him again, you'll get your chance."<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In hindsight, there had been signs of his aunt's upcoming betrayal. Her interest in cultivating his strength in dark magic made more sense, but he had known that that would never equal the things he already knew and had yet to learn from an island boy.</p><p>He wanted to be the boy Sora remembered. A cooler, older version, but someone Sora would look at and know, in his heart, that Riku had been waiting for him.</p><p>He had once explained to Kairi that his destiny led him straight to Sora, the closest he had ever gotten to telling someone his destiny directly. It was Kairi though, and he couldn't think of anyone else he would trust with it. Even Sora couldn't know yet, couldn't know until Riku knew that Sora was to stay. </p><p>She had snorted and told him everyone was already aware he was in love with Sora, but it was cute that it was destiny too.</p><p>His destiny had never mentioned romance, he wanted to say, but the words got caught in his throat.</p><p>His destiny had never mentioned romance, but he sat there thinking about the all-encompassing feelings Sora inspired in him. He thought about how making Sora proud of the man he was becoming was a daily thought. He thought about how he had always wanted Sora near him, how he had let him slip away twice so Sora could be happy. He thought of a little boy crying after beating him in a swordfight and being stricken because how could he fix it?</p><p>"Oh," he breathed, a soft sound that almost disappeared into the night air. Kairi looked at him, her brow wrinkling. He smiled at her. "It's love."</p><p>That part wasn't destiny. That part he had written into the stars all himself. He just had to hope Sora felt the same.<br/>
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</p><p>His father was dying. His father was dying, and his aunt had turned against them, and Kairi’s father had disappeared, and it’s all so <em> much.</em> He had known for years he would have to fight for the throne, but it had never once occurred to him that fighting for the throne meant his father <em>couldn’t</em>. </p><p>He wasn’t ready. He didn’t feel ready at all, but he had to be, because the alternative was letting his aunt take the throne, and that wasn’t an option at all. She had delved into the depths of black magic before and had revealed her monsters. </p><p>He needed to get out.</p><p>He needed to get to the islands.</p><p>He needed to get Sora.</p><p>Right now felt like the time to find the strength to ascend to the throne, because he had never felt weaker than when he sat at his father’s bedside thinking about the magic lessons he should have continued longer, if only so he could tell if this too was his aunt’s doing. </p><p>When the morning came that his father stilled and he couldn’t bring himself to check if it meant what he thought it did, Pete came from the shadows of the room and declared the king was dead. Riku steeled himself as he walked back to his room. </p><p>He wasn’t dumb. He needed to get out now; he had seen his aunt’s cold eyes on him in the past few weeks, like a mask had been lifted and all her disdain was coming to the fore. </p><p>The only thing was, Pete had locked the door behind him.</p><p>Riku didn't think of himself as the type to scare easily, but the click of the lock inspired dread in him. He was several stories up, in a locked room with an aunt who was a skilled magician who might have killed his father and certainly wanted Riku himself out of the way. </p><p>‘<em>Supply lines cut</em>,’ said the voice of his father in his head, a reminder of lessons that he had struggled in. ‘<em>Reestablish them, regroup elsewhere or lose.'</em></p><p>He had been drilled in scenario after scenario, but he didn't know enough to know what to do here. </p><p>He would have to be patient.</p><p>Food was teleported in. He suspected his sleep each night was enchanted, slipping off too fast and soundly to feel natural in such circumstances. His chambers were cleaned as he slept.</p><p>He never saw the door open, hadn’t seen another person in days. </p><p>He was trapped.</p><p>His aunt was clever enough to have locked him in the first prison he had ventured into.</p><p>If he survived this, he was never going to be able to sleep in this room again. </p><p>He heard the talk in the corridors as he leaned against the door. A coronation was being put together, but Riku didn’t think it was his own. Was his aunt going to draw out his death like she had his father’s? He wouldn’t put it past her. He wouldn’t put much past her at this point.</p><p>He was furious. The sheer nerve of her! She had killed his father, was going to kill him and he was to sit here and await his own demise at her convenience. Too suspicious for the son to die this quickly after the father, but she was probably spinning stories of him catching whatever ailment she claimed his father had. He would only be kept alive for a few weeks.</p><p>Kairi was the most welcome sight he had ever seen.</p><p>She woke him in the middle of the night. “She might notice I nullified the spell. We have to hurry, I don’t think I can do that again.” Kairi’s magic was even weaker than Riku’s own but several times more useful since her aptitude lay in spell deconstruction. He believed her when she said she wouldn’t be able to again. His aunt’s magic was more powerful than most’s and he couldn’t imagine Kairi had much in the way of magical reserves after undoing one of her spells, even one like a sleeping charm. </p><p>She handed him his blade and a cloak, and then they ran. She led him through corridors that he hadn’t even known existed, but he trusted her to know the way out. If he couldn’t trust Kairi in this, he really couldn’t trust anyone. </p><p>She couldn’t have known that she was leading them to monsters.</p><p>He had seen the things from his room’s window, racing across the castle’s inner wall. If several of them were here in a corridor he hadn’t known existed, then his aunt had more of them than he had thought. </p><p>“Oh god,” she said as the swirling mass of shadows stepped toward them. They coalesced into four shapes. She stepped in front of him, brandishing her own sword. “Riku, you have to get out,” she said, eyes trained on her foes, like she was somehow going to manage four opponents on her own. Even if they hadn’t been creatures of magic, he wouldn’t have let her. </p><p>“You’re not even a knight, Kairi, don’t go around trying to protect me now.”</p><p>“If you run, you’ll be able to lose them.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he said, drawing his sword and taking a step forward to her side. “We’ll fight them and both run, idiot.”</p><p>All they had to do was get to the other side of the monsters and then run. Staring into yellow eyes, Riku had a feeling it might not be quite that simple. </p><p>The shadows were more solid than he was expecting. He swung and the resistance on his blade was greater than he had thought it would be. Still, he had been going for a killing blow, so the blade sank deep into the monster, a clean cut at the shoulder. </p><p>The monster shrugged it off, the shadows shifting until his blade wasn’t in the monster at all. It was startling to watch, and Riku realized he had been too distracted a moment too late.</p><p>Another’s claws sank into him in turn. He flinched away, swinging to dislodge the beast.</p><p>Even if his sword didn’t hurt it as such, the thing certainly didn’t like being on his blade.</p><p>He could work with that.</p><p>Kairi was faster than him, her blade glancing off the monsters and, ever so slowly, edging her way onto their other side. She nimbly hopped out of the way of a strike, twisting so she would land a little closer to her goal without showing the monsters her back. Riku emulated her. Fights weren’t a relaxing experience in the least for him, but there was a certain clarity in them. He parried a strike, stepping back in the hopes it would unbalance his foes. The shadows shifted closer but away from the wall, not unbalanced but out of his way. He slipped into the gap, stabbing at the legs of the creature before slashing up. He couldn’t traditionally injure the creature, but it needed time for the shadows to reform. Another quick few steps and he was beyond the semi-barricade of monsters.</p><p>He didn’t have time for a sigh of relief before Kairi cried out. His eyes snapped to her as she crumpled on one leg, one of the monster’s claws still digging in at her leg until she slashed down at it. It was clumsy and she almost hit her own leg. She wouldn’t be able to fight like this. </p><p>Shit. Neither of them were any good at healing magic.</p><p>She scrambled backwards as he stepped in front of her, slashing at the shadows that attempted to follow. “Get on my back,” he said. He could carry her temporarily, but it wasn’t a long term solution. Still, right now, they just needed to get away from here. Anything else could wait.</p><p>She got on his back and he moved backwards with her. His swordwork wasn’t going to hold them off for long while he was concerned with a passenger. Beyond that, he was pretty sure the monsters were faster than him carrying Kairi. He was pretty sure they were faster runners than him in general. </p><p>He breathed. He wasn’t the best at magic, but he did have one strength.</p><p>“Dark firaga,” he intoned and a blast of darkness came at the beasts. He took a few steps back but froze.</p><p>The monsters were… Bigger?</p><p>That was really not good. </p><p>Okay, dark magic was his only magical aptitude and it wasn’t an option. His breaths were coming a little quicker as he tried to hold them off. His swordwork was sloppier than it had been in ages, but it was the middle of the night and Kairi was throwing off his center of balance, so he cut himself a break.  </p><p>He needed something else and fast.</p><p>There was one spell that he hadn’t botched in years.</p><p>He couldn’t be certain it would work, but he had to try.</p><p>“Firaga,” he said and the flames blossomed into the corridor before him even as he felt abruptly more exhausted. He couldn’t see the shadows beyond the fire. He grabbed Kairi’s legs, hoped he wasn’t hurting her and turned and ran immediately. </p><p>He looked behind them. The monsters were reforming, wisps of shadow coalescing back into the creatures they were. He turned back. They had to get as much distance as they could before the monsters reformed. </p><p>Kairi wasn’t particularly heavy, but Riku’s lungs were burning shortly. She guided him out in a tight voice.</p><p>The monsters did not catch up with them again. He wondered if that meant they hadn’t bothered to give chase, but he shoved the thought from his mind. For now, they were safe. </p><p>Riku was grateful. He could probably barely manage another firaga, but there was always the possibility it would knock him unconscious. He trusted Kairi, but he couldn’t see her getting them out of that. The fact that she had gotten them out of the castle was a miracle in and of itself. </p><p>“We need a healer,” he said, breathless. There were several healers in the town outside the palace, but he couldn’t figure out which was safest. Would any of them report their whereabouts to his aunt? Would any of them <em> not</em>? </p><p>“I know someone,” Kairi said, a certainty in her voice that calmed the rising panic in his head.</p><p>What the hell were they supposed to do now?</p><p>He followed her directions, ignoring the burning in his muscles. Better sore than dead. </p><p>The woman she led them to smiled at them in greeting. “I was wondering when you’d get out of there.”</p><p>“It’s been a long few weeks,” Kairi responded. “We need your help.”</p><p>“Gladly. People were starting to get worried,” the woman said, turning and entering her home. “Come on, we don’t want you in the street for long.”</p><p>Riku was shown a bed to set Kairi down in, in a room with several others, all unoccupied. The woman saw him glancing around curiously and said, “For some reason, less people have been coming back injured in recent years. I had hoped it was good news, but… Well, with the way things are in the palace, I don’t think so.” She waved a hand over Kairi’s leg, a gentle glow on her palm. “Broken. None of my potions are quite up the task, and I’ve had a busy day. I can heal you in the morning, but I’ll need the rest.”</p><p>“We’re running out of time,” Riku said, and Kairi pushed him.</p><p>“She said she needs the night,” Kairi said in a tone that brooked no argument. “I’m not in nearly as much danger as you are though; you need to get out of here, farther from Maleficent's reach. We need to gather allies and-”</p><p>“We need to get to Sora.”</p><p>“You <em> really </em> think that your <em> childhood crush </em> -” she began, a little hysterically. It stung. Did she think he was bringing Sora into this because he <em> wanted </em> to? In his ideal world, Sora would get to stay far away from this all. </p><p>She had said it had been a long few weeks. It showed. He could see that she was exhausted and desperate, and he offered her what he knew.</p><p>“He’ll help. I don’t know how, but he’ll help. We can win this fight with him.” </p><p>She looked at him more seriously than he had ever seen her. Then she sighed and turned away. “Maybe he will help. Go find him then.”</p><p>“We’ll start in the morning.”</p><p>“No,” she insisted. “Go now. Start searching and get out of town. Your aunt has too many eyes here. Aerith wouldn’t tell her, but I’m not as sure about her neighbors.”</p><p>What she didn’t say but he heard was that his presence put them at greater risk. After all, Kairi may have irritated his aunt with this stunt, but Riku was her target. </p><p>“Do you have anything to help disguise me?” he asked, turning to Aerith.</p><p>She gave a slow grin. “I’ve got just the thing.”<br/>
<br/>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Do not mention this to Sora,” he pleaded as Sora’s mother opened the door. The dress and wig had made for a solid disguise on the road, but this was not the impression he had wanted to give. </p><p>Still, better a strange brunette knocking at Sora’s door than the prince for now.</p><p>Her flinty eyes were the same as he remembered as she stared up at him. She was so much bigger in his memories and now he was taller than her. “You have a knack for coming when my son’s away.”</p><p>His breath caught, but he forced it back into its normal rhythm as he processed. This wasn’t his last hope. He wasn’t even sure if he was particularly hopeful. It was more he was grasping at the one thing he had felt sure of and now he was at a loss. If Sora wasn’t here, Riku had no idea where he could be. The stories of the swordsman came from all over. Beyond that, he didn’t know where else Kairi would look for Riku himself if he wasn’t on the islands. She knew him well enough that it would be her first stop once she was looking for Riku.</p><p>Beyond<em> that </em>, he was aware that she had begun training under her father. She would find Sora much sooner than he could. Better to remain where she could easily find him.</p><p>“He’ll be here soon,” was all he could offer.</p><p>She looked him over, a slow glance that seemed to melt some of the ice in her gaze. “You can stay here until then.” She turned away, her back to him as she spoke from the doorway. “You don’t seem the type to stay long after.”</p><p>He wanted to apologize, but he wasn’t sure what for. He remained silent as he followed her in instead. <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The few days before Sora arrived were what he needed. The calmness of the islands, even as the rest of the country veered toward a possible civil war, left him steadier than he had been since his father had taken ill. Beyond that, there was something in his heart that whispered that he would see Sora and Kairi soon enough, and that was a calming thought on its own.</p><p>Time was running out certainly, but his destiny told him they may succeed still. How, he had no idea. However remarkable he had always found Sora, he was one man. </p><p>Of course, his aunt was one woman, and she had created plenty of problems on her own. </p><p>Still, something in him settled when he saw Sora.</p><p>He remembered his promise as a kid.</p><p>If Sora was his destiny, then the next time he saw him, he wouldn’t let go.</p><p>That wasn’t fair to Sora though. His instincts were greedy, wanting all of Sora’s time and attention, but Sora wasn’t meant for that. He had been traveling for the past six years. Maybe he wanted to continue that. Riku wanted Sora by his side, but it could only ever be an offer, not a demand.</p><p>He wanted Sora to be happy more than he wanted Sora with him, one desire trumping another just barely.</p><p>He had been on his best behavior with Sora’s mother the past few days, so it was nice to be able to fall into teasing Sora, like he had seen him just yesterday instead of years before. Sora was just a couple inches taller than his mother, leaving him a few inches shorter than Riku, but Riku sort of liked it. Sora had always been shorter than him; he liked that Sora hadn’t really changed all that much from the bright child of his memories. Same spiky hair, same sunny smile.</p><p>“I missed you both, but I think I like Kairi more right now,” Sora told them after Riku made a comment on Sora still not being able to reach a paopu fruit. Riku startled before reddening. He hadn’t wanted Sora to be annoyed with him. </p><p>Kairi took one look at his face and laughed. It didn’t help the blush.</p><p>It seemed that Sora was at least somewhat changed from when they had last seen him though.</p><p>They told him they were running low on options, and he came out with a surprisingly calm, “Alright. Well then, we should probably ask Merlin.”</p><p>He hadn’t thought Sora was the type to joke in this sort of situation, but it was the only thing that made sense. It was the same as saying “Let’s just find the Keyblade” or “Let’s go to the underworld”. Merlin was more myth than man.</p><p>“Merlin?” Kairi asked, as if questioning Sora was going to make this make more sense. “The legendary sorcerer who can’t be found? The one who’s presumed dead?”</p><p>Sora nodded.</p><p>He wouldn’t keep up this sort of joke right now, right? If he was, Riku was going to be annoyed.</p><p>He held in a breath. This was Sora.</p><p>He let it out.</p><p>He had to trust that he was going to help them. “And how are we going to do that?”</p><p>“We’re going to his house. I know where he lives.” What the hell. Merlin was alive? Sora knew Merlin? They were just going to pay a visit to <em> Merlin </em>, Sora’s… what, friend? Mentor? Colleague? </p><p>Sora was obviously enjoying this, his grin stretching across his face. Less sunny and more shit-eating, in fact. </p><p>“Oh my god, the rumors are true,” Kairi said, and it was like the weight of the last few weeks was falling off of her shoulders. She grinned. “Sora, you’re amazing. We might actually be able to do this.” Well, Riku had told her so.</p><p>He wasn’t a fan of the hearts in her eyes or the responding joy in Sora’s. He knew, he <em> knew </em> Kairi didn’t mean it like that, but he was greedy. He slung an arm around Sora’s neck, ruffling his hair while he gave Kairi a steady look. She raised an eyebrow in response, an amused smirk on her lips. </p><p>“You’re still a brat,” he said as Sora tried to squirm out of his arms and he returned his attention to Sora.</p><p>“When did you get so muscular?” Sora whined, and Riku fought the urge to blush again. Sora continued, “Aren’t you a prince? What happened to being dignified and all that stuff?”</p><p>“Doesn’t count when your friend is being a brat,” Riku said simply, but he released the tight grip he had, even if the arm remained over Sora’s shoulders. Kairi’s eyebrow went higher and he ignored her more stridently. Maybe he couldn’t keep Sora, but he could be near him for now.</p><p>The next morning, Sora led them to the cave they had drawn in as children. He had given a semi-coherent explanation on how Merlin’s spell worked, but all Riku understood was the more hidden a place, the more likely it was connected to Merlin somehow. Magical theory had never been his strong suit, and he suspected explaining it wasn’t Sora’s. </p><p>Sora’s explanations petered out. “This should work,” he said, and he reached out and...</p><p>There was a moment where Riku looked at Sora, and he looked like a stranger. His eyes were closed and he wrapped himself in power so tangible that Riku could <em> feel </em> it, and suddenly Riku understood why there were so many rumors about a single swordsman. The world shifted and the image fell away, Sora turning and smiling at them, as if to say, ‘ <em> See? </em>’ but it had been burned into Riku’s mind. Then, Sora turned and ran ahead, picking his way through the moving stones with the ease of experience. Riku looked after him for a long moment.</p><p>Sora wasn’t something Riku could keep like his childhood self had wanted.</p><p>In fact, he wasn’t even sure he could hold on to him. What if Sora was his destiny but he wasn’t Sora’s?</p><p>Kairi nudged him.</p><p>It wasn’t the time to indulge those thoughts.</p><p>Riku glanced around. The cave they had found themselves in seemed to be just a normal cave, but he supposed that the sort of spellwork Merlin was rumored to construct wasn’t something he would be able to sense just glancing around. Even the moving stones didn’t seem magical, though they must have been.</p><p>Sora had been yelling, but he had ducked inside the house already. Kairi went in before him and Riku stayed at the door frame.</p><p>All he knew of Merlin were rumors. They didn’t all say he was friendly.</p><p>The man himself seemed curious about them. “He’s a prince? Why didn’t you ever mention that?” Merlin asked Sora. So, Sora had talked about them to Merlin but hadn’t mentioned their backgrounds? That was-</p><p>“I didn’t know,” Sora said with a shrug while Riku’s brain stuttered. He hadn’t known? What the hell did Sora mean he hadn’t known Riku was a prince--? Oh, <em> oh </em> . They had met on the <em> island </em> during the war, of course he didn’t know. The entire point of that adventure had been to keep a low profile and ensure his safety during the war.</p><p>He had missed a little of the conversation, but he caught Merlin saying, “That sounds like Maleficent's work.”</p><p>“You know her?” Riku asked, startled. Did that mean they had worked together? The room suddenly felt a little less safe for having thought it. </p><p>“I know <em> of </em> her,” Merlin said, frowning deeply. He didn’t seem like he was lying. “Her magic is powerful. What did you do to make an enemy of her?”</p><p>“I was born,” Riku said dryly, crossing his arms in front of him. So Merlin was more familiar with the magical side of the situation rather than the political side. He supposed that made sense; the man did live in a cave disconnected from the outside world.</p><p>“Well, if it’s her you’re fighting, you have a saving grace. She would never kill someone,” Merlin said. Merlin might be out of touch with her morals. Riku was relatively certain his father hadn’t died of natural causes. </p><p>“Then, my father is still alive?” Kairi asked, hopefully. She seemed more guileless than he had seen her in years, ever since she had begun her own training. </p><p>Merlin winced. “I believe she called murder ‘a waste of resources’. All sorts of terrible creatures came about from her experiments years ago. They used to follow her, attacking at her command. We were able to turn back some, but… they came back twisted.” Kairi’s face had fallen with every word of his explanation. The words hammered their way into his chest, the sort of pain he had hoped he was done feeling with the news of his father’s passing.</p><p>So, they were both orphans of a sort now.</p><p>He couldn’t imagine Kairi’s father corrupted by his aunt’s magic. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. </p><p>“What do you mean twisted?” Sora asked hesitantly.</p><p>“She amplified the darkness in their hearts, turned them into monsters that responded to her beck and call. We tried to undo the effects, but their hearts remained corrupted. We lacked the light to restore them.” Merlin leveled a significant, completely unsubtle look at Sora, but what did Sora have to do with it? “And they were lost to darkness again soon after. If she’s creating monsters again, it’s likely a continuation of the same.”</p><p>Riku looked at Sora, but Sora was giving his own look to Merlin. It was heavier than anything Riku had seen on his face, reminding him of the years spent away from each other. The Sora he had known would never have been able to produce this look.</p><p>He wanted to know what put it there, but this wasn’t the moment to ask. </p><p>There was a residual fear in Riku’s heart about facing those creatures again and he knew from a glance that Kairi felt it too. </p><p>Merlin said that it would come naturally to Sora, who had regained a distant expression as they discussed their next steps. </p><p>Something was wrong, but Riku didn’t know what to do about it. Sora had never been prone to brooding as a child, always back up with a bright smile and willing to follow along with Riku’s plans.</p><p>Sora functioned best with something to do, and a task had just been placed in front of him.</p><p>Kairi was the natural choice to fill Merlin in further, as Riku had been locked away in the weeks that Maleficent's plans had been unfolding. He didn’t have to tell her that though, but she leveled him with a hard look when he suggested Sora could deal with a creature of darkness as a test.</p><p>She knew it wasn’t just allaying their fears that made him suggest it, and she obviously didn’t like that he wanted to go, but she raised no objections and it was decided. </p><p>Still, the fear crept back into his heart as he followed Sora. Merlin had seemed very confident that Sora could handle this but he kept hearing the snap of Kairi’s leg. </p><p>Sora led him from the cavern and into the woods Riku had been in a thousand times before. The familiar surroundings seemed more sinister than before, knowing that one of his aunt’s beasts was around.</p><p>Sora walked quietly, the type of gait acquired through training. He was looking around calmly, more curious than anything, and then he glanced at Riku and gave him a quick smile. “I can feel it somewhere around here,” he said and then he kept walking. </p><p>A short walk later, they hid behind a fallen tree. </p><p>“What is it?” Sora asked, as though he hadn’t led them directly to it. </p><p>Riku rolled his eyes. “That’s what her creatures look like,” he said, instead of, “What do you <em> think </em> it is, Sora?” because he could understand the shock of looking at one for the first time. </p><p>“And you thought your best bet was to turn around and fight it?” Sora asked incredulously. </p><p>Riku took a very controlled breath. That wasn’t precisely accurate, but now didn’t feel like the time to quibble over the details. “At the time, yes.”</p><p>“Riku,” Sora said seriously. “You’re so dumb.”</p><p>Well if he was dumb, he certainly wasn’t the only dumb one here. “You’re the one that volunteered to take one on. At least I was being chased when I thought it was a good idea,” Riku said defensively, turning toward Sora slightly to glare at him. </p><p>Sora sighed, fixing his gaze on the creature before them once more. He was frowning slightly as he considered the creature, but he didn’t seem to be doing anything.</p><p>Merlin had said to trust Sora’s instincts, but they had been crouching for a few minutes in silence and that didn’t seem very instinctual. “Are you going to do anything?” Riku prompted.</p><p>“I’m thinking!” Sora shot back, and that was not the plan they had come here with.</p><p>One of his instructors had told him, “Hesitation is death,” and it had stuck throughout the years. There was a time for planning, but this wasn’t it.</p><p>“We’ll be here forever in that case. Trust your instincts,” Riku told him, and then stood up, dragging Sora up with him and pushing him at the creature. There was a moment of panic, because fuck, what if Sora really had needed the time? </p><p>“Riku, what the hell?!” Sora exclaimed but he sounded more annoyed than panicked, and it soothed Riku’s nerves. Riku felt like he blinked at the wrong moment, because Sora was suddenly holding a sword.  </p><p>“You weren’t getting anywhere on your own. You needed a push,” Riku drawled, because there was a sudden bloom of confidence in him. </p><p>Sora was… fast. He had thought the creatures were swift, but the creature lunged and Sora lifted a barrier and delivered a killing blow before the creature landed. If he hadn’t been so focused on Sora himself, the flash of light that the beast emitted would likely have blinded him and Sora himself stumbled back with a cry, trying to block it out. </p><p>Still, when the light faded, Riku found himself speechless for a moment. </p><p>“What…?” came a dazed but familiar voice, and the man on the ground was just as Riku remembered him. They were probably of an age now, even if Riku had looked up to him.</p><p>“Roxas?” Riku asked in disbelief. </p><p>Roxas seemed to collect himself. He looked at Riku and then Sora and then his eyes widened slightly as his gaze shifted back. “Prince Riku?” he asked slowly.</p><p>“But you went missing before I even met Sora,” Riku said, because Roxas had gone missing before the war. Riku only remembered him because he had acted as one of Riku’s first sparring partners, one of the first men he had ever lost to. Then the war had come, and Riku had known better than to ask where Roxas had gone afterwards. </p><p>His aunt had been working against them for so long? </p><p>“I… What happened? Axel and Xion were with me, but I can’t--What happened?” Roxas had always seemed almost arrogant to Riku as a child, until he had lost and he had realized it was less arrogance and more confidence. In this moment though, he felt wild, untethered, and Riku knew what he had to do.</p><p>He took a breath and straightened.</p><p>Roxas didn’t need Riku to be scared right now. He needed something to grab on to, something that made sense when unexpectedly deposited into this, and Riku needed answers anyway.</p><p>Riku straightened his spine and knelt next to his no longer missing knight. “I’m sorry, but we don’t know exactly. We’re trying to find out. What do you remember?” he said in a measured tone. Roxas didn’t need to know Riku was feeling panicky too, was starting to realize just how far back his aunt’s betrayal ran. </p><p>“I-I was with Axel and Xion. There had been a message requesting our presence, and we were on our way to the courtyard. We thought we were going on a mission, but something was wrong. I--Xion thought there was something off, but she didn’t say what before we realized Axel had vanished. He was right behind us, I swear, he had been complaining about how a squire had forgotten his name, and I didn’t notice when he stopped until Xion pointed it out, and he was gone. We heard a scream from a corridor we had passed by, and we rushed back, but I don’t remember ever getting there. Then, I was here, and you’re <em> older </em>, and how much time has passed?”</p><p>Three of his knights tricked and twisted into beasts, which meant there had to be more. Had there really been a mission or had the entire scenario been a trap? Both were alarming possibilities. </p><p>The most alarming thing though was how quickly things had gone south. Riku had assumed that Maleficent's work took time, that she transformed them into beasts in a manner he might be able to see coming. </p><p>She had taken <em> his </em> knights in the castle where they should have been <em> safe </em> and no one had known to stop her. </p><p>“Were you scared?” Sora asked thoughtfully, and Riku looked at him incredulously. Was that really the most important question he had right now?</p><p>“Of course I was scared,” Roxas said bluntly. “Who are you?”</p><p>“That’s probably how she got you then,” Sora said smiling even as his words threw Riku for a loop. He had a rudimentary grasp of how emotional states could affect spells, but he had never heard of anything that took the emotions of the <em> target </em> into account. “I’m Sora,” he continued, as if he hadn’t just dropped an entirely new type of magical theory into the conversation. “Merlin will want to see you though.”</p><p>“Merlin?” Roxas asked, a little hoarsely. Riku was honestly a little impressed that he was keeping up with any of the conversational twists Sora was leading them through in rapid succession. “As in the Merlin who disappeared from this plane of existence?”</p><p>“That’s the one,” Sora said cheerfully, taking a step back from the two as Riku stood. “Come on, we have things to do. Maybe we can find Axel and Xion while we do them too!”</p><p>“Is he always like this?” Roxas asked, rising to his feet. Riku nodded mutely. Whether he was referring to the cheerfulness or the habit of dropping astonishing pieces of information with no regard for his audience, it was accurate. “Great,” he said flatly.</p><p>“Honestly, he’s your best bet at finding your friends,” Riku responded. He remembered that moment in the in between of the cave and Merlin’s cavern, where Sora had been a shining stranger. “He’s my best bet at reclaiming the throne.”</p><p>They both watched as Sora tripped over a branch, windmilling his arms before catching himself.</p><p>“Great,” Roxas said again.</p><p>When they watched Sora open their path before them though, he saw Roxas have the same moment as he had.</p><p>“I see what you meant,” he murmured as Sora bounded ahead once more.</p><p>“If there’s one thing I’m confident in, it’s him.”</p><p>Merlin didn’t bother with greetings as they followed Sora in, taking one glance at Roxas and declaring him fine before returning to his conversation. It appeared Sora had picked up his conversational habits from somewhere after all. </p><p>“But you never saw the King dead?” Merlin asked Kairi. </p><p>“Not personally, but I was busy trying to get Riku out of the castle,” she responded, somewhat impatiently. </p><p>“The details are important,” Merlin and Sora said at the same time, seriously and cheekily respectively. Merlin gave a put upon sigh that Riku didn’t buy for an instant. </p><p>“What?” Sora asked, impishly. “It’s great seeing someone else having to deal with your questions.” Kairi glowered at him. To her, he said, “Now imagine this going on for years.”</p><p>“I saw him die,” Riku said, the words feeling like ash in his mouth as he turned away. The entire moment felt more like a distant dream than reality. Still, his mind played out the moment he had stepped back from the bed with the deep sense that something was <em> wrong </em>, and he hadn’t been able to bring himself to move forward again. He was stuck in the moment where his indecision had paralyzed him, too desperate to know but too scared to find out. </p><p>“But who declared him dead?” Merlin asked, and it was that question that tore him from that bedroom. </p><p>“... Pete said he was dead,” Riku said slowly, his eyes widening, because he hadn’t been able to check on his father, but Roxas had been manipulated into his fear as well. What if that was the reason it felt more like a dream than a memory? After all, Pete had been the one to lock him in his room. He snapped his head to look directly at Merlin. “But Pete is one of Maleficent’s advisors now.”</p><p>Merlin smirked at Kairi. “The details are important. If the king is truly dead, I’ll be surprised.”</p><p>“If he is alive,” Kairi shot back, “and that’s a big<em> if </em>, what’s he been doing?”</p><p>“Maleficent saw an opportunity and took it. An ailing king dying isn’t suspicious, but she wouldn’t have left him be after that. I think you know what happened to him,” Merlin said calmly.</p><p>Their eyes turned to Roxas.</p><p>His father was a creature of darkness, but he wasn’t dead. Riku felt a calmness overtake him. </p><p>Nothing had been taken from him that he couldn’t take back. </p><p>Roxas wanted his friends back, but Merlin convinced him he would be more useful with Merlin than wandering.</p><p>“If all goes according to plan, they’ll even be human again when you find them!” Sora chimed in and both Merlin and Roxas grimaced. </p><p>Merlin said, in a softer tone than Riku had heard him use, “Sora, you must know, these sorts of enchantments-”</p><p>“I know,” Sora said, cutting him off. Riku would have loved to know what was obvious to the two of them. He didn’t know if this was deliberate secret keeping on Sora’s part, but something about it left him uneasy. “But I have a plan.”</p><p>Merlin looked at Sora steadily. “I hope you do, my fool apprentice.” </p><p>He then huffed and returned to the thick book he had been poring over before.</p><p>“It’s time then?” Riku asked. Secret or not, that had felt like a dismissal, and Riku was still a little wary of upsetting a figure like Merlin.</p><p>“No time like the present! Besides, we’re in the best place we could be for this!” He would take Sora’s word for it. “Just tell me where we want to meet her.”</p><p>Riku looked at Kairi, in time to see her shrug while turning to look at him. He spread his hands, offering her the choice, and she gestured back at him. What? She had a better grasp of Maleficent’s operations than he did, why would he choose?</p><p>He tapped two fingers to his hand, an old gesture they had used to mock one of their tutors who had had a habit of trying to hurry their answers along while tapping a ruler. </p><p>“Her tower. She’d be a fool if she didn’t have a warning system in place there, and no one was ever able to find her experiments,” Kairi said. </p><p>Sora smiled, and the world <em> twisted </em> just a little around him as he stepped forward, and the world shifted as Riku took a step to follow and there they were. </p><p>The room itself was empty. He glanced at Kairi, who nodded at one of the doors and he started to walk to the only other door of the room. Neither of them recognized this room, it seemed, so they had to orient themselves first. </p><p>He had only taken a few steps when he saw the shadows move out of the corner of his eye, and his heart leapt to his throat.</p><p>Those monsters could teleport? </p><p>The snap of Kairi’s leg played in his head. </p><p>His aunt’s voice spoke from behind him. “So, you’ve come for your throne, dear nephew. But how do you intend to take it from me?”</p><p>Riku didn’t turn to face her, anger mounting at her voice. He didn’t need to take the throne from her, it had never been hers. “It’s my destiny to rule. Thus, it’s yours to fail.” He gathered himself and turned around. Kairi was there, quietly slipping to Sora’s back. They were better prepared this time, but the shadows <em>had</em> coalesced into a monster: his aunt. </p><p>No, this woman wasn’t his family. She was the sort of woman who ran experiments on his father and was a threat to Riku’s own life as long as she saw him as a threat. This was the kingdom he had been trained for years to rule, and she wasn’t going to ruin it in an attempt to consolidate her own power. He wouldn’t let her.</p><p>“I’m just acting as the hand of fate," Riku said, because his destiny had led him here, following his instincts had led to the moment that could spell her defeat, and he wanted her to <em>feel</em> it.</p><p>“How darling,” Maleficent drawled, a false nicety that irritated Riku to no end. What was the point in the pretense here? “I’ve never been one to succumb to fate.”</p><p>“Single combat,” Sora said. Maleficent drew back, as if only now realizing there were other people in the room. “A single fight to determine the fate of the kingdom.” </p><p>“Your best warrior,” she demanded, as if she had a right to demand anything of them, and there was a smirk on her face. She was certain of her victory.</p><p>Sora stepped forward, and even though this moment was almost entirely why Sora was here, Riku had to resist the urge to pull him back. Maleficent looked unimpressed as she looked at Sora, her eyes flickering to Riku, as if to say, ‘<em>Him first. Then you.'</em></p><p>“Sora, be careful. Maleficent isn’t the sort to play fair,” Kairi said, and Riku knew she felt worried too. Kairi’s training told her not to draw attention, but her instincts always had her defending her friends. </p><p>“I’ll be fine. They tell stories about me, you know,” he responded, but he didn’t turn. Riku didn’t know how to read Sora from behind, didn’t know if the confidence his voice rang with was true or if he was trying to comfort them. </p><p>“You’re a boy,” Maleficent taunted, a cruel smile spreading on her lips. “Are you truly the best he has? No one would rally for their prince?”</p><p>“Better than you!” Sora called out, and then he had a sword in his hand, spinning it in a flashy move that Riku couldn’t figure out why Sora knew how to do. “Show me why they fear you, Maleficent.”</p><p>Sora lunged and Kairi grabbed Riku’s arm and pulled him a few more feet away from the fight. </p><p>Riku had been impressed with Sora’s speed before, but Maleficent was faster than her creatures, shifting her form like she was made of the same shadows they were contained into the shape of a woman. </p><p>Sora released his grip on his blade, but it didn’t fall, acting as if it was still being wielded by someone, and Sora grabbed a dagger from his side. </p><p>It seemed for a moment that Sora had the advantage. Between the sword and Sora himself, he managed to injure her, leaving two long slashes on her arm.</p><p>Then he spoke. “It’s over.”</p><p>Something seemed to fracture in Maleficent’s face, an internal process breaking down that shifted her more from woman to shadow. Her eyes glittered maliciously as Sora slowed, obviously sensing a shift in her. “What arrogance. They say arrogance turns you into a monster,” she said, and then the shadows coalesced behind Sora as he tried to adjust to a teleporting opponent. “Let’s see if they’re right.” </p><p>Sora let out a choked sound that was almost drowned out by the clatter of both his dagger and sword on the ground.</p><p>“Sora!” Riku couldn’t help but cry, Kairi’s voice echoing with his. </p><p>Then, Maleficent tossed Sora away, and the image of Sora sliding off her claw of shadows to crumple on the floor was one that felt burned into Riku’s mind. A pool of shadows formed under him and Sora himself began to shift as Kairi’s grip tightened on his arm.</p><p>No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. His destiny was about finding strength and ascending to the throne, not causing <em> Sora </em>to become Maleficent’s monster.</p><p>It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.</p><p>Not like this.</p><p><em>No</em>.</p><p>He could feel Kairi tugging at him, and he knew that she was trying to get them away, but how were they supposed to get away from this? Maleficent was there, and Riku couldn’t tear his eyes away from the creature Sora had become. </p><p>“Your best warrior, offered to me like a sacrifice,” Maleficent taunted, and Riku wanted her to shut up. “Sora, was it?” Like she had <em> any right </em> to talk about him, like she had <em>any right</em> to be here, doing this to them, to <em>Sora,</em> how had he ever thought of this woman as his <em>aunt</em>? “I’m sure he’ll be quite sorry when I turn him back,” she cackled. “Attack.”</p><p>Riku could feel his heart race in sudden terror. Between Maleficent and one of her creatures, he couldn’t see a way out of this, and he wasn’t even sure, even knowing how Roxas had become untwisted, that he could stomach hurting the creature that Sora became. He didn’t know how the magic worked anyway, and he was going to die regardless.</p><p>Except, he had been staring at the creature that had been Sora, and it wasn’t moving. </p><p>It glanced around, yellow eyes sending a shiver down Riku’s spine, but it wasn’t moving. </p><p>“Are you deaf? My monster, attack!” Maleficent called, and the monster turned towards her.</p><p>“Sora,” Kairi called out, and Riku hoped she was right.</p><p>Maleficent certainly seemed to think so. With every step the shadow creature took, she backed away. It seemed even her magic was limited in what it could do to her creatures. </p><p>A shadowy paw came down on Sora’s sword, and Sora shimmered back into existence. </p><p>Maleficent looked thunderstruck. “How-?” she got out. </p><p>“I promised, no matter the situation, to never perform dark magic, so a fairy took my ability to do it. In exchange, it doesn’t affect me very much. Must have been a pretty strong enchantment,” he said, a grin growing on his face until it much resembled a smirk at the end of his words. “Bad target choice.” He lifted his sword to her throat, looking for all the world like a cocky kid. Riku supposed he had earned it. “Give up. You won’t win against me.”</p><p>“I… concede,” Maleficent said through gritted teeth, and Riku breathed a sigh of relief. </p><p>“I am sorry about this,” Sora said, and then he sunk his sword in her side.</p><p>Oh god, Sora <em> had </em> been keeping secrets. There had been no need for that, why-?</p><p>“Sora,” he said in a horrified whisper, the sound barely carrying in the room. It was all that would come out. </p><p>Sora’s eye widened, and he seemed to take in the situation. “I promise I am helping, I wouldn’t kill her,” he said, and Riku felt himself relax. </p><p>Maybe he didn’t know everything about Sora anymore, but Sora had always been fundamentally honest. He didn’t think any version of Sora could lie to him about this. </p><p>He turned back to it, and the pair of them looked like a tableau from a fairy tale, the dashing prince slaying the wicked sorceress. </p><p>Riku supposed that made him the princess. </p><p>“A single battle for a kingdom, of which you have always been a part,” Sora said, and it was like the air around him shifted, the space becoming just a little separated from reality.“I bind you by your word, by your blood, Maleficent. I bind you by the magic in my veins, by the power of my sword. Your monsters are gone. The throne belongs to its rightful heir.”</p><p>Sora stood properly and the air around him shifted back as Maleficent slumped. Sora stumbled back, using his sword like a walking stick, and Riku could feel the part of him that had been drilling in caring for weaponry flinch. </p><p>“It’s over,” Sora sighed, and then he smiled brightly at them like he didn’t look two seconds from passing out. </p><p>“Sora, what did you do?” Kairi asked, because Kairi always had to know. </p><p>“She’s sleeping off the enchantment. I did the same thing when it happened to me. She’ll be alright soon enough. It was a day for me, but the fairies had more resources available to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if she slept for a week. She’ll never cast black magic again though. The curse should have broken. Her magic can’t sustain it any longer.”</p><p>That was the same sort of halfway explanation Sora has given for how travel to Merlin’s worked as well. Riku laughed. “When did you get so smart?” Sora just dropped advanced magical theory on everyone and expected them to know how it worked right off the bat.</p><p>It would be irritating if it weren’t pretty cute.</p><p>“It’s been years! And I’ve always been smart!” Sora protested and Riku gave it to him. </p><p>“Yeah, I guess you always have been,” he said, and Sora blushed.</p><p>“We should find the King, explain the situation,” Kairi said, and Riku blinked.</p><p>Right. </p><p>“Well, he’d either go to the throne room or Maleficent’s room first, right?” Riku reasoned, and then headed to the door once more, opening it to reveal a hallway. “So, we’ll wait go to the throne and wait for him to come to us.” Riku glanced back at the two of them, and Sora looked like if he tried to walk, he was probably going to fall over. That wasn’t going to work. Riku doubled back, drawing one of Sora’s arms over his shoulder. “Come on. You should be there for this.” He had done a lot of the work, he deserved some recognition. </p><p>They passed guards milling about in confusion. The ones who recognized him bowed to Riku, while others whose faces Riku could barely recall looked at the three of them in confusion.</p><p>No one tried to stop them from entering the throne room. Riku sat Sora on the throne itself. Technically, it was a breach of etiquette, but anyone who looked at them could see that Sora needed the chair the most. </p><p>His father entered after his guards, his stern expression melting when he met Riku’s eyes. He looked like he had never been sick, never said his goodbyes. “You’re safe,” was the first thing he said, and Riku wondered when he had known that Riku had been in danger at all. They certainly hadn’t discussed it, knowing they had never really been alone for long while his father had been ill. </p><p>“And you’re alive,” Riku responded, with the smile that was expected of him. He was happy to see his father, but there were so many other things that they would have to discuss. Someone would need to see to Maleficent, and Sora probably needed a healer, and- </p><p>“Stop trying to act cool, Riku,” Sora told him, with a roll of his eyes, because he was a <em> brat.</em> </p><p>“Riku?” his father asked with a raised eyebrow, both asking him and asking why Sora felt entitled to address him by first name. Sora was being a brat in front of the king.</p><p>“This is Sora,” Riku muttered, and he could feel a blush rising. He saw the moment his father forgave Sora’s faux pas as he swiftly shifted from King to embarrassing dad.</p><p>“Oh, is it?” he asked in a leading tone, because it wasn’t like Riku had ever been subtle about Sora and now he was regretting it.</p><p>“Yes,” Riku muttered again, and his face got a fraction redder. “He's a warrior of light.” Which was more relevant to the current situation than Riku’s crush and therefore <em> should </em>be the thing they focused on. </p><p>“Oh, I see,” the King said in the same tone as before, because his father was the worst. “That’s why you always-”</p><p>“He defeated Maleficent in single combat,” Riku interrupted before his dad could finish that sentence. </p><p>Thankfully, his dad knew when matters of state superseded personal ones and he grew serious. “Ah. And what did you promise him in return?” he asked, turning a calculating gaze on Sora. His dad knew of Sora, probably had an opinion of some kind of him, but they had never personally interacted. His father was taking the measure of a man he knew to be important to his son, and Riku wasn’t entirely sure if it was his place to help. </p><p>“Nothing. I was helping my friends,” Sora said snappily, like he had forgotten he was addressing the <em>King</em>. Riku buried his head in his hands. Why were both of them out to ruin this for Riku? </p><p>“I suppose you’ve never been taught the manners of the court,” his dad said slowly, tilting his head as he looked at Sora like he was a curious type of person.</p><p>“No,” Sora said shortly, because he had no manners at all, apparently. </p><p>His dad smiled. “Well then, I suppose Riku has his work cut out for him.”</p><p>Riku dropped his face back in his hands and groaned. His dad was so<em> embarrassing.</em></p><p>As he lifted his gaze, he saw a stranger had approached, eyes on Sora. Riku frowned. Sora was now a high profile individual. Any enemy of the kingdom had likely just become Sora’s personal enemies as well, but the man didn’t seem to really care about the presence of Riku or his father as he approached beyond the usual courtesy bowing. </p><p>“Your name is Sora?” the man asked, and Sora turned, his eyes widened upon seeing the man. The man seemed to take it as confirmation. “Everyone’s so much older now. Even you.”</p><p>“Mom’s still waiting for you,” Sora said faintly, and it connected in Riku’s head that ‘<em>oh, that’s his dad,’ </em> right as Sora collapsed against the throne.</p><p>The room became a flurry of activity as his father ordered a healer brought at once, directed guards to apprehend Maleficent and her advisors and generally began to bring order once more.</p><p>Riku was guiltily glad it wasn't his responsibility. He went with Sora as they moved him, and he could see Sora’s father taking stock of him, obviously not sure why the prince was accompanying his son. He ignored it. He was the crown prince, the man would know better than to demand answers from him in his own castle. Sora could deal with it when he woke up.</p><p>He waved to Kairi and her father, who gave him a thumbs up and a solemn nod respectively. He was glad to see the man was okay, but they would understand why he didn't approach. They would be in the thick of rooting out Maleficent's people, and he needed to know that Sora was alright before he could do his own duties. </p><p>The world could wait just a little longer.</p><p><br/>
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</p><p>Sora seemed happy to see him on waking, but he left still, taking his father with him to return home. Riku pretended he wasn't disappointed, but he was sure he wasn't fooling anyone.</p><p>His father made Sora a Knight of the Realm regardless, and based on the significant looks he gave Riku, it was partially due to his actions that helped the kingdom and partially because he’s was giving Riku his blessing.</p><p>"He lived up to expectations," his father told him, and Riku was quietly pleased.</p><p>The appointment was kind, but Riku didn't think Sora would care. If he couldn’t be bothered to dredge up his manners for the King, he would probably be baffled by the announcement.</p><p>“If you wanted to go to the islands, no one would find it strange that the prince would bring the news to the man who helped him reclaim his kingdom,” his father offered.</p><p>“He’s been traveling for years,” Riku responded. “I’m not going to go and tear him away from his family.”</p><p>His father hummed, smiling gently. “I see.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Riku changed bedrooms the first night he spent outside of their healer's workspace.</p><p>He couldn't handle being trapped by those walls again. </p><p><br/>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It wasn't long before Sora is back, and he <em>was</em> baffled by his new position. </p><p>“Am I supposed to do anything?” he asked Riku. </p><p>“It’s more of a title, in your case."</p><p>“Huh,” Sora said, and then he shrugged it off like it wasn’t supposed to be an honor.</p><p>He really just… didn’t know so many things that Riku thought people just <em> knew </em>. </p><p>Riku was becoming more and more aware that he may have lived in a bubble. </p><p><br/>
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</p><p>Sora’s continual presence was both amazing and horrible.</p><p>“He was so cute,” Riku whined, because Sora had fallen asleep on his shoulder and then, when he woke up, hugged Riku for being a nice pillow and then bounced off and how the hell was he supposed to deal with this? </p><p>Kairi seemed to be reaching the limits of her sympathy for the day, because she patted his head and said, “There, there,” very dryly. To be fair, this was the third time today he’s sought her out because of Sora-related issues. “Why don’t you just ask him on a date?”</p><p>Riku didn’t want to tell her it’s because he’s trying to figure out the perfect first date. She didn’t like his hesitation.</p><p>“Get out,” she said, kindly, but she did indeed shove him out of the room, so maybe not so kindly.</p><p><br/>
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</p><p><em> Apparently</em>, Kairi was just as embarrassing as his dad because Sora brought up that she was talking to him about how Sora is ‘the second dumbest boy she knows’ and Riku knew who she thought as first place, but the important thing was that she was telling him about <em> knights marrying nobility </em> and Sora really was dumb because he couldn’t figure out how she got from point A to point B in that conversation.</p><p>Riku hit him with a pillow. It’s self-defense. How else was he supposed to get Sora to stop saying such embarrassing things?</p><p>Sora was a competitive little shit though, and his bed hangings and pillows get torn in the ensuing pillow fight. Riku would like it noted that he was not the one who tore the hangings while falling off the bed.</p><p>He <em> was, </em> however, the one who accidentally tore the pillowcase digging his nails into it in splitsecond panic as Sora went down even as Sora came up laughing a moment later. <em>That</em> he would not admit to though, so the household staff mainly blamed Sora. They loved it when Sora came back contrite and fixed the mess though. Riku didn’t stop hearing cooing over how sweet Sora was from them for another two weeks, and he didn't exactly need the reminder.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Riku was laughing over a story Sora was telling him, how he had fainted in a training bout with a swordsman named Leon after declaring victory early in his time on the road.</p><p>Then, Sora placed a hand on his shoulder, and Riku’s laughter faded as he saw Sora’s eyes dip just a fraction and then he leaned in and-</p><p>It’s perfect. </p><p>He kissed back, one hand going to the back of Sora’s head, one dropping to his waist, because he didn’t expect Sora to do this, but he’s not going to waste his opportunity. </p><p>His hand slid to Sora’s cheek as they pulled apart.</p><p>He still hadn’t figured out the perfect first date, but he’ll think of something.</p><p>He felt like he could do anything when Sora looked at him like that. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment or kudo if you liked it!</p><p>I feel like Sora's was a story about figuring out your destiny while Riku was just a pining mess most of his. Dude has no chill.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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